In the Leaves

Just a few shots from a playdate this week.

Sam was rather anti-social for much of the playdate, but decided at the end to semi-cooperate. He taught a couple of friends a listening game he and Gram play - "Stop & Go".   I don't know if "taught" is the right word...more like "yelled".  The girls were having fun running around at Sam's command and they were very sweet to him.  As grumpy as he was at the park, as soon as we got in the car he told me how much fun he had playing "his" game with his friends and has talked about it several times since.  I just never know with this little boy sometimes!

Holiday Shoots

For Sam, Christmastime has arrived early.  

We met up with some Lens Baby friends for a couple of holiday shoots this week and we are officially in the Christmas Spirit!

Recognize this porch with the black door?  

I brought some baby here

last year

- don't know where he went to!

So pensive...

This counts as a big pile of leaves here in Texas, so we had to have a little fun with them!

Had to include this one, even though it's not Christmas-y.  This is Chester, Chestnut Square's resident cat.  He really had fun with all the kids that day.  He'd run away when they chased him, but always came right back for more. Sam and I were the last to leave and while I was packing up all the props I noticed them sitting so quietly together.  I grabbed my camera and quickly snagged a couple shots of these two boys right as Chester was snuggling up to Sam.  It almost made me reconsider my feelings about cats.  Almost.  I guess any cat who likes my boy this much must be pretty okay so I'll make an exception for Chester!  He even got in our car, twice, while I was loading props.  Sam's eyes were huge when he saw Chester hop in the front seat!  I think we'll have to go back soon and visit our new little friend.

Let's Go Fly a Kite

It just so happened to be the windiest day EVER!

A friend of ours had scheduled a "kites" playdate and it turned out to be on the perfect day!

Sam had not flown a kite before so I wasn't sure how he'd do. I had picked up two kites from the dollar store a few months back that we'd never used so I brought them for him to fly, but as it turned out, it was too windy for our little kites and they fell apart before they got two feet off the ground!

Our friend shared her cute little owl kite with us and it worked great. Sam did great holding the string and keeping the kite in the air.

Trying New Things

Howdy, y'all!

Sam and I visited McKinney's Storybook Ranch with some friends a few weeks ago.  It was a cute little patch of farmland that had pumpkins, pony rides, a petting zoo, and bounce houses.  I was

shocked

that Sam tried, and loved, all of these things!  I thought for sure we'd just be quiet observers at this playdate.

The pony rides were the first attraction of the day and at first Sam wasn't sure about riding.  He watched some of his friends sit on their pony while the lady pushed the bar around and around in a circle.  I asked him if he wanted to ride a pony and he said no.  When the first round of kiddos was done I asked him, "Which pony do you want?" and that worked!  He said "That one", and pointed to "Brittany", the pony with a flag blanket under her saddle.  Sam was a little quiet at first, but really warmed up to this whole cowboy thing rather quickly. 

I couldn't get him to wear his cowboy hat, but when our friend Liz asked him to put it on, he complied, of course.  And then, thanks to all the moms who were cheering Sam on, I got that great shot of my little cowboy smiling and holding up his hat on his pony.

After his pony ride, he ran through a hay maze and chased after some baby pigs.   He thought the pigs were hilarious, but was a tiny bit scared when the goats started chewing at my sweater.  I have to admit, I didn't really like that either! 

I thought for sure that would be our last activity of the day, but Sam decided today was the day he was going to try a bounce house.  He's wanted to try one before, but didn't like that other kids were bouncing in there with him.  I guess it made it too bouncy.  This time having other kids bouncing with him was fun.  If they left one bounce house to go and try another, Sam was close behind.  Again, I was pretty surprised!

Before leaving he got to ride a pony

again

(!) and then we were told to chose our own pumpkin to take home.  Sam picked a pretty good one - our first official pumpkin of the season - and it's still on our entryway niche outside his room.  It was a very successful playdate, with Sam trying lots of new things.  We were very proud of our Cowboy Sam!  Yee-haw!!

Heard-Craig House

Sam and I recently visited the grounds of McKinney's Heard-Craig House with some friends to take some pictures.

  It was a very pretty day and Sam had fun running around the garden.  We need more days like this here in Texas!

T-Bawl

To say Sam threw a huge fit at this particular playdate would be a major understatement. Not our best day. But I still managed to get a couple of good pics - before the meltdown...

The Cweek!

Sam and I had a fun playdate yesterday. Several of us "momtogs" and our boys met at a neighborhood creek to let the kids splash around in their rainboots. The water is very clear and shallow and the creek is nestled in a quiet spot, downhill from a walking trail. The only thing missing yesterday was a little sunshine, which would have made for some pretty sparkles on the water. But Sam had a pretty good time, anyway, especially considering we came directly from school when he's often tired and cranky. He was a little reserved in the water, but did wade out into the creek with me and had a great time playing with a stick on the "shore". We'll definitely have to go back to cool down on a hot sunny day this summer!

Lemonade for Sale!

A friend of mine from our photography group hosted a lemonade stand photoshoot and asked me to help with a few of the details. It turned out really pretty and the kids had fun. Sam was kind of whiny until the very end, then he decided to be a good sport and play lemonade stand for us so we could get some pics!

Central Park

I took Sam to play with some friends in Central Park last week. Frisco's Central Park, that is.

Aside from a few tantrums here and there, Sam had a great time being able to run around without me having to stay right on him. There are huge longhorn and cattle sculptures, fountains, and an outdoor amphitheater. Sam loved walking along the theater "seats" and blowing the pinwheel in the wind.

Heritage Homestead

I came here on a field trip once when I was little girl, and again with

my

first class over ten years ago.

Yesterday, I got to take Sam and that was the best trip of all! We went with our photography group and there were lots of great photo ops.

Sam loved everything - the chicks, horses, sheep and hens. He got so excited over the eggs, both the toy-eggs and the real eggs, that we found in the hen house. And he loved watching the tractor, throwing sticks in the creek, and learning how to jump on a hopscotch game.

 I think he like the red one-room schoolhouse the best, though! Doesn't he look like a model student?  Ha!  He didn't stay in that desk for long - he wanted to play the piano that was "like Granny Nell's"!

Splish, Splash, He Had an Absolute BLAST!

We had a summer sneak-peak this week.

We met some of our photography friends at the Fairview splash park this week. We went there with them once

last year, too

. They've added a new feature this year called "The Village Beach".  They basically took a small field and covered it with sand.  There are several volleyball nets, playground equipment, beach chairs, shovels and pails and even a little boardwalk.  Sam liked playing in the sand but LOVED splashing in the fountains.  He ran and giggled, ran and giggled for almost three hours.  When Brian saw these pictures he said, "This is going to be a fun summer!"  I agree!

Click (posted 3/27)

He looks like a natural!

We enjoyed our Vintage Camera Photoshoot playdate today.  Sam was pretty agreeable and there were lots of things there for him to explore and enjoy.  He climbed around on a playground that was just the right size for him, pet a fluffy puppy dog named Marshmallow, played with a bunny named Molly, and got to take pictures of Mama with his very own camera - a (non-working) Kodak Brownie Starflex.  What a fun St. Patty's Day afternoon!

Feeding Frosty

We've discovered a new favorite snack to help Mama get through this trying time known as Toddlerhood - Frosted Mini Wheats. Turns out, Frosty likes them, too.

We went to a Frosty the Snowman playdate/photo shoot this week and while Sam enjoyed playing with all the stuffed snowmen and musical, dancing snowmen, I wasn't really getting good shots of him. I asked him to feed Frosty and then give him a big hug and that did the trick. One of only a handful of times this week Sam has actually cooperated! Added bonus - action shot of our pint-sized athlete, running with a "foo-bawl"!

Grisham Farms

So

that's

how the piggies eat.

Sam and I had a great time at McKinney's Grisham Farm today, tossing bread to the goats, feeding milk to the little piggy, and just doing some general running-around.  I think Sam would make a pretty good little farm boy!

Way Back When

It was a beautiful day yesterday.

It even felt like fall!  And it's still September...unusual for Dallas!  Sam  and I headed out to McKinney with our photography friends for a photo shoot at Chestnut Square.  It was a pretty place and reminded me of a very, very small Old City Park or Naper Settlement, except it was free and we happened to have the place to ourselves!  There was a large patio, surrounded by old homes.  The insides are restored and furnished with period pieces, but our group was just interested in the outside.  There was lots of shade which made for great light and each house and porch floor provided a different backdrop. 

It was a great place for Sam.  He could roam safely from porch to porch without much help from me, and I could follow at a distance, snapping photos.  And because he was able to run around and burn off some energy, he was pretty agreeable when I'd ask him to turn toward me or do something specific so I could achieve a certain shot.  He took direction surprisingly well, actually.  I asked him to knock on doors, peek in windows and "hug" posts. 

Brian and I giggled until we were in tears when we saw the top photo - he looks like he's posing for a runway show.  Just a lucky shot, of course, but what a ham!!  The last one made us laugh, too.  I had just sat down on the ground and said "Come give Mama a hug".  And so he did!

If You Go Down Into the Woods Today...

You're sure of a big surprise...

If you go down into the woods today, you'd better go in disguise.

 

For every bear that ever there was will gather there for certain.

Because today's the day the teddy bears have their picnic.

Sam and I had another fun playdate today - this time we were the hosts.  We had a teddy bear picnic at our neighborhood park.  Sam was pretty good, as long as his little bear paws were full of Teddy Grahams.

The other moms got some great photos of their babies with their teddy bears.  We're looking forward to the fall - lots more outdoor playdates and photo shoots scheduled!

Nature

This is how the other children see Sam during playdates. The back of him - off and running.  Always on the move.

I couldn't blame him yesterday.  We met the other moms and babies at a really pretty park in McKinney.  There was lots of shade and open space for Sam to run.  And boy did he run.

The purpose of the playdate was for all of us moms in this particular group (a club for mommy photographers or "momtogs" as we're sometimes called) to get together and practice taking pictures of the kids outdoors, with bubbles and pinwheels as props.

This is the only picture I got of Sam officially participating in our photography shoot.  He can't say no to bubbles!  But for the most part, Sam had other plans.  He wanted to get down and dirty with nature.

And boy did he get dirty!  He collected seed pods ("baw-uls") and threw them in the lake, one by one, and watched the water ripple.  He found some leaves, a couple of sticks, and pounded his hand on a park bench, touching a spot that I thought was dirt, but later decided was something else, judging by the number of geese lurking around...

And by the time we were ready to go home, this is what his playmates saw, the ones he had ignored for over an hour - a dirty, hot and sweaty boy who'd had a great day just hangin' out with nature!

Staying Cool

It was 100-something degrees. We had an outside playdate scheduled, but lucky for us it was to splash around in Samuel-sized fountains. All that splashing wore Sam out and that's always a good thing!